Ecclesiastes 7:1-9:18, 2 Corinthians 7:8-16, Psalm 48:1-14, Proverbs 22:17-19
Today is the fourth day of September, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is fantastic to be here with you today, as we dive into this week and move forward together another step, as we continue our voyage through the Bible this year. We have wound our way into some wisdom literature in the Old Testament, and that’s where we are right now. And so, we’ve worked our way through the book of Job, and are now in the book of Ecclesiastes. Which, looking at it, in terms of wisdom literature, we could be like well this just sounds like a very depressed guy who got to do a lot of things and found it all meaningless. There’s wisdom in that though, big, big wisdom in hearing from the Voice of a person who is been able to do whatever they want, whenever they want, pretty much with whomever they want. And these are some of the conclusions. And so, let’s continue that journey today, Ecclesiastes chapters 7, 8 and 9.
Commentary:
Okay, let’s talk about sorrow for a minute. What does that word mean to you, sorrow? When you think of that word and what it means and maybe even what you have or are experiencing right now. When you hear the word sorrow, is that a positive word? Is that like light up blue and like yes, this is good. Or is it like a negative, it lights up red and not, that’s to be very much avoided. Or maybe more true is that we do everything we can to avoid it, but we can’t. And so, is it just this thing that comes in life from time to time, sometimes just literally leveling us flat. And sometimes just kinda making us down for the day. Is this just something we have to endure? I mean I’ve of been in Christian ministry for very long time now and so, I’ve talked to thousands of people, and I haven’t ever met anybody that, you know, just told me that they were seeking sorrow or just looking for it. That this was their purpose, was to find sorrow but at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever met a person that hasn’t experienced sorrow in some way. And when people describe sorrow it’s loss. Right, it's…it’s dark, it’s not light it’s dark, it’s disappointing, its sadness, it's…it’s the hardships that we face. It’s the losses that come when there’s a hole left in our lives that a person used to fill, and they’re gone, and we’re distressed. And we have been reading in the New Testament long enough to know what the apostle Paul is and what his story was. And so, we know that Paul had to experience suffering everywhere he went. But in today’s reading, Paul seems to make a distinct…distinction between suffering and sorrow. Because for most of us, when we think of sorrow, we think this is a bad thing that God would not want us to experience. And yet I quote from the apostle Paul, “the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow, but worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” Okay, so Paul is saying look, there’s a distinction here. There is a kind of sorrow that leads you to repentance, which leads you to wholeness. So, another way of saying this would be that we should experience sorrow when we wake up and find our lives wandering in directions that we know are not right, that should produce these emotions that we were talking about. It should be a disappointment. It should feel like we’ve lost something, it should be distressing. Like, when we walk into sin with our eyes wide open, we should then experience the gravity of what we’re doing because we’re…we’re being a willing participant in interrupting what God is doing and inside of us. We’re betraying our source. That isn’t good and that is healthy, and that should produce sorrow because, as Paul said, it leads us away from sin and results in salvation. The kind of sorrow we’re talking about here is that we open our eyes and become aware that we are running away from God instead of running to him. And we should become aware of the implications. We are running away from what we need to survive. According to Paul, this kind of sorrow leads to repentance and repentance literally means that we change our mind, we go in a different direction, like we return to God. And so, let’s reframe sorrow as we think about this today. Like, there is no sorrow store that we can go to, go through the drive through line and get our daily dose of sorrow. Sorrow comes and we deflect and seek comfort in any way that we can. Maybe if sorrow is upon us before we do that, maybe we should wonder what is this about, because the way we handle and interpret it, will lead us to run to God or to run from God. But if we are experiencing sorrow, we ultimately want that sorrow to be comforted and the Scriptures tell us, God will heal our broken hearts, and that God will forgive us and will be patient with us. And so, may we experience the sorrow that leads to repentance.
Prayer:
And Jesus, we invite you into that, to embrace a concept like sorrow something that we spend so much of our lives and energy trying to avoid, to actually embrace it and understand that it refines and leads us somewhere, it gives us an awareness. It’s within us, something crying out that something’s wrong. And if we will embrace and find out what that is and allow your comfort to come into this place and your leadership, then you will always lead us on the narrow path that leads to life. You will only lead us in a place that is ultimately healthy for us. So, we trust you, come Holy Spirit. May we experience repentance today. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hello DAB community, it’s Morning Lift. Reaching out just to give you all an update. I really appreciate all your continued prayers for me and my family. Went to court on Tuesday of this week and while that was one of the hardest days of my life, the most painful and sad days I’ve ever had to walk through. The judge pretty much gave us everything we could have asked for and it’s I say, a very good result, legally speaking and for the kids. But it was also really hard to see my wife go through what she had to go through. And I don’t wish that on anyone. I wish she had never filed the lawsuit, I wish she would have never done what’s she’s done. I wish we had never gotten separated. And I pray that God will hopefully use this humbling experience for her to soften her heart and open her up to reconciliation. I don’t really know what’s gonna happen. But I’m lifting it up to you family to pray for her, to pray for me, to pray for our kids. Very happy with the results. I get to choose a new therapist for our kids and I think that’s the best thing. And the judge agreed and that alone was, you know, a massive win. I also get to spend a week at a time with my kids. Which I was not getting before, I was getting days or hours. So, I’m just really blessed by that, it is a true praise report. And I thank you family for lifting us up in prayer. But I ask you to continue to pray for reconciliation. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Hi, Lorianne from South Carolina, this is His Light from Tennessee. Just wanted to chime in here and my hymnal is being heard through prayers are being heard and they are going to be lifted up before the throne room of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And you have such a sweet voice and I’m so glad you’re here, I’m so glad that you are able to reach out to the DAB community family and ask us to pray for you. It just broke my heart to think that your family members would try and harass you for money or steal things from you. That’s just not the way that our family is supposed to be. So, I am praying complete focus for you, so that you can get to that place that your mom’s cleaned out quickly, so that you can go and lock the door, put the alarm on and know that you won’t be harassed. And I just pray for you to be lifted up and that the Lord will comfort you. Just meditate on His word. Just know that He loves you and He has you in the palms of His hands and His heart and He’s holding you and loving you. And again, just because I’m listening and hearing your prayer today, which happens to be the 31st, I think you called in on, well it was played I think, on the 25th or 26th. But neither here, nor there. Bottom line, what I’m trying to say is, you will have people that are gonna continue to pray for you now and in weeks from now. Somebody that’s gonna be a little behind, they’re gonna listen and say a prayer. So, you’re covered girl. We love you. Thanks for calling.
Hey, everybody, this is Carmen from Germany. I’m just calling in to say hi. I’ve been listening since 2017, I think it was the end of 2017 when my husband left me for like, somebody 30 years young. I was just, I had the rug pulled out under my feet. I had just no idea how things were gonna go. Anyway, I did call in for prayer and I still remember Alaska Mom and Kingdom Seeker Daniel praying for me which really meant so much just to hear your name. Anyway, long story short, 6 years have gone by, my husband and I are divorced, and I did come back to a normal life. It’s been two years; it took two years but I’m living again. Because at that point you just feel like, up is down, down is up, your whole world is turned around. It’s hard to believe that you’re gonna see light at the end of the tunnel. I did have some wonderful prayer requests answered. I asked God for a really, concrete things so I knew that I could give Him the glory, He answered it the way I had requested, and He did. So, it was really exciting. So, now I can be a blessing to others. I keep hoping that I’m not gonna end up living the rest of my life alone but this time, I really want a Christian husband, my last husband was not and it’s really hard here in Germany to find somebody who is a Christian and in, you know, the later half of life. Anyway, I really enjoy hearing all of you. I pray with you, and I thought I should just touch base, so you guys know I’m here. So, Carmen in Germany sending lots of greetings. We’ve got rain and letting you know that I’m a part of this community and praying with you, thinking of you and I just love Biran’s comments. Bye everyone.
Hello, Daily Audio Bible family. I just want to call this in for a mother that called on the broadcast of the 1st of September, I heard your desperate cry for help, for your daughter Rebecca. And at this time, I want to pray for Rebecca and for you. Oh God, Heavenly Father, we thank You Lord that You hear our cries. You hear our desperate cries and that we can come before You with any petition and knowing that You’re a God of love, You’re a God of mercy. And at this time, we come before You Lord to remember Rebecca and her parents before You. You know that Rebecca wants to take her life because she’s not feeling worthy, and she doesn’t feel that she should continue to live in this world. Lord, we pray that Your Holy Spirit would touch her, deliver her from this desires. I pray God that You would make her conscience of Your love, the love her parents has for her. The love You want her to enjoy. God, we pray complete deliverance and wholeness for her, even now. And we thank You Lord for touching her and for encouraging her parent’s hearts as well. That they would continue to believe that You are able to do more than they can ask, think or imagine. Oh God, we just give You praise, we give You thanks now. We cover her on Your blood. In Jesus name. Amen.